1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and systems associated with assessing a physical location of a network element and/or a user associated with the network element.
2. Background Art
The physical location of network elements can be important to network managers, emergency response entities, and other individuals concerned with the physical whereabouts of a user associated with the network element. For example, with the advent of VoIP and other so called “online” based communications, the ability to physically locate a user making a VoIP can be important, such as but not limited to emergency situations where the user may be attempting to make an emergency 911 (E911) call.
One known method of physically locating the user includes requiring the user to enter information regarding their physical location upon registering for VoIP services, such as by requiring the user to fill out a questionnaire and designate their intended location when making VoIP calls. This concept, however, fails to address the problem of the user physically changing the location of the VoIP device (network element) after such its registration, such as but not limited to when the user takes the VoIP device to another location when making a VoIP call.
There are any number of other examples where it may be desirable to determine the physical location of the network element itself, as opposed to the user associated therewith. For example, as more and more content is stored locally on STBs, DVRs, and other network elements, the network elements performing the storage may become rather valuable and susceptible to theft or value to inventory of content provider that relies on the network elements to source content. The ability to locate such high-valued network elements can be helpful in locating the items if stolen or simply performing inventory or other analysis.
Accordingly, there exits a need for methods and systems associated with assessing a physical location of a network element and/or a user associated with the network element.